Son of Thunder
by BlackHowling77
Summary: It was something his blue eyes never saw coming. The kidnapping of an exwife. The search for an immortal stone. The weapon of a Black Market thug. The blood of a friend smearing the blade of a Gods broadsword. It was something Jonny Quest never saw comin.
1. Senior Pranks

A/N: So, I've had this in my head for a while, wanted to see if you guys would like it or not.

As usual, I dont own anything, not making any money, just for fun.

If you like, tell me, if you dont, keep it to yourself.

* * *

Rockport High's seniors, the current graduating class of 08, were, as the teachers had willingly admitted, the best and closest senior class Rockport had seen in years. The kids had bonded and united when they were freshman, endured the senior's punishment and had torn a war path through the school. They had won everything, from the spirit weeks to the powder-puff football games to the pep rally competitions.

Now they were seniors, and it was their turn to create a dynasty. The current senior class president, Stephanie Ratigan, had wanted to go out with a bang, and with her ideas, the class of 08 would be the most remembered at Rockport High. She had hand picked five seniors, who she thought, would be the best execution team. Jonny Quest had been Stephanie's first pick. His disregard for the rules had made him a legend throughout the school. Jessie Bannon, his closest friend and partner in crime followed. Kaylyn Shaffer, Kristen Norkus, and Josh Bray completed the five man team.

The following weeks after the forming of the team, the five were never seen apart. Where one was, the other four were close behind. The five were a unit. They could finish each others sentences and voice each others thoughts with ease as they continued to grow closer together.

In the weeks that followed, the senior class was never so united. The preparations for the pranks were designated to the art classes who posted signs all over the school declaring: "08 Appreciate," "The Champions Are Coming," and the most popular "Fear the Five." To the fives delight, the Principal, Miss. Davidson, was furious. Apparently the art students who were seniors weren't talking, and she had no idea who the so called "Champions" were. With the administration frantically trying to prepare for what they thought the seniors might do, the five were free to move unnoticed and complete their pranks.

**Friday, 3:17 AM - Rockport High **

The five champions where mere shadows amongst the two stories of Rockport High. Today was the last day of the last week, and it was going to be and eventful one. A senior prank had been pulled one day of every week in the month before the senior's graduation. Today was the day for the last prank which consisted of 3 parts. Two were to be executed on the football field in the stadium, while the other was a surprise for Miss. Davidson and her car. Each of the five had a reasonably size pack on their back filled with spray paint, and thanks to Jonny, lots and lots of nylon wire. Their destination: the football field. A week ago, they had finished the preparation for the "final task" as it was so called. The first part consisted of 40 sheets sowed together with the ever so popular saying, "Fear the Five" panted across it. They had placed their most prized possession in the POD storage container hidden in the woods bordering the school. The sheet had been removed from the POD, spread out, and placed in the middle of the field early this morning by Kaylyn. The five stood on the hill that surrounded their football stadium. The four light towers that overlooked the field were their first target. Jonny looked down the line at his four friends.

"You guys ready to make school history?" he asked with a smile. He was greeted with four nods and an especially wide grin from Jessie. They descended the hill and walked to the center of the field where their giant sheet was spread out. Kaylyn and the others pulled out the nylon wire and secured it around the four edges of the giant sheet. Jonny then attached one end of the wire to Kristen's backpack and they walked to the first light tower. Kristen stepped up. The others watched as she reached out grasped the closest rung that stuck out of the sides of the tower. The plan was that four of them would climb up the individual towers and make it to the basket at the top, they would then haul the sheet up and stretch it out until it was tight and in doing so make a roof over the field with the words "Fear the Five" to look up at. Although the sheet was big, it didn't quite cover the entire field, which was a little disappointing, but it couldn't be helped. The sheet already weighed a lot, any bigger and it couldn't be lifted.

Jonny looked up the tall tower then to Kristen who was beside him. He paused and then said with a smile, "looks like a good 30 feet to the top Kris."

She didn't even glance at him, "Do me a favor Quest…keep that kinda shit to yourself," she advanced forward and started to climb the light tower.

The four laughed, then Jonny, Jessie, and Josh made their way to the other three light towers. Kaylyn had stated before they left Jonny's house, that their was no way in _hell_ that she was going to climb one of the towers, so instead, she positioned herself in the middle of the field underneath the enormous sheet to make sure when they lifted it that it was centered. Soon the four were at the top of the towers and lifting the sheet into the air.

"Pull it tighter guys! We want this to go as high as it can!" yelled Kaylyn.

"Easy for you to say!" Jonny, Jessie, Josh and Kristen yelled back with smiles.

"Jonny, a little tighter on your end," ordered Kaylyn, "Kristen let it go about an inch. Jessie, Josh, hold it steady!"

They all nodded and soon the sheet was centered and towering 30 feet off the ground. The four climbed down the towers and joined Kaylyn in the center of the football field.

"Looks good guys," Kaylyn complimented, staring up at the giant sheet over her head.

Josh looked at his watch, "that took an hour and fort-five minutes, so we have about…" he took in a deep breath and scratched the back of his head, "another hour and thirty seven minutes before the teachers start arriving."

"Good, I don't think the field will take as long," stated Jessie.

"We got plenty of time to finish," Jonny said with a smile, he then turned to Kristen, "grab all the spray paint out of your bag. Me and Josh will go get the field liners out of the utility shed." They all turned and set off at a run to accomplish their goals. Josh and Jonny came back with the liners and Kristen soon returned with all the paint. Soon the football field was covered in the words that the class of 08 had lived by since they were freshman. The five retuned to the top of the hill and admire their handiwork. The football field read:

"_Party hard, rock an' roll, were the class you can't control, fine boys and girls, were hard to hate, cuz were the class of 2008."_

_-Seniors_

The faces of the Five Champions were glowing. They turned to each other and exchanged high fives and smiles.

"It's _so_ beautiful," Josh replied, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

"Quest, Bannon," Kristen said with a smile, "it has been an honor serving in battle with you."

"We leave the final part of the task for you to complete," declared Kaylyn. Jonny and Jessie stared at their three friends.

"Were the _five_ Champions," Jessie argued pointing to all of them, "you guys deserve to finish it as much as we do."

"Out of all the people in the senior class, you two are the ones that should administer the final blow, not us," stated Josh.

"The both of you have been doing this for three years, its only right that you guys are the ones to finish it," put in Kaylyn. Jessie began to argue, but Jonny put a hand on her shoulder. Her emerald eyes met his blue ones. "You know we can't change their minds." He turned to the three and stuck out a hand. "Thanks." Josh reached for it, but in an instant, Kristen and Kaylyn were on him. The hugs were short, but strong. After the two girls finished with Jonny they whirled onto Jessie and bombarded her with hugs as well. Josh stepped next to Jonny and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Silly girls, don't know how to control their emotions," Josh laughed out.

"Yeah," sighed Jonny. He looked at the group. "Ihop on me guys." The three girls shot up from the ground where they had fallen, huge smiles on their faces.

"I was waiting for you to say that," breathed Kristen.

The five laughed and walked to their cars as the sun came up over the horizon, illuminating the giant sheet that hung over the football field.

**Friday, 7:23 AM – Rockport High**

Jonny and Jessie filed into first period two hours later. The fact that they had even accomplished the tasks that morning in the amount of time they had was a miracle. The restless night showed on their faces and now all that was left of the final task was up to them to complete.

Jonny sat down in his seat as Jessie sat in the desk next to him. The bell rang and they stood for the pledge. Then, as they were sitting down, Miss. Davidson voice boomed over the speaker system.

_As many of you all know, another prank was pulled last night. It is my job to announce that this has gone on long enough. These so called Champions of the senior class will be caught and punished for their actions. Meanwhile anyone with information concerning these vigilantes should report to the principal's office immediately._

During the speech the school had erupted into cheers at the thought of the prank. Jonny smiled to himself. He was jarred from his thought as his teacher, Mr. Connelly shut the door. He strolled to the board as he started writing down the warm-up. Jonny was startled when he called his name.

"Mr. Quest, Miss. Bannon," He turned to face the class, which had gone silent, his eyes staring at Jonny and Jessie, "The giant sheet was a nice touch." With that, he turned back to the board and finished writing the warm-up. The class shot into applause. Jessie and Jonny were speechless.

"How?" hissed Jessie, "We were so careful."

"All I know is that he didn't tell on us," replied Jonny, "so I don't want to think about how close we came to getting caught."

The day went by in a blur. First period ended with the snap of a finger, then came second, which trudged on like it normally did, which was bearable and then what Jonny and Jessie had been waiting for…lunch. They had to be done with the final part before sixth period started or they would be in big trouble. Jonny found Jessie and they made their way out of the lunch room and towards the faculty parking lot.

"You have what we need, Jonny?" she asked. Jonny smiled and pulled out three boxes of saran wrap. They had been informed that Miss Davidson drove a silver Honda Accord. Once they were in the parking lot, they found it and started to work. The Accord was soon covered in a thick coat of saran wrap. As the last box was used up Jonny and Jessie admired their work.

"We did it Jess-."

Jessie yanked Jonny behind the car and put a finger to her lips, then flicked her eyes towards the schools front door. Jonny's face dropped. He glanced over the top of the car to see a very agitated Miss. Davidson whose hands were on her hips. She took one look at her car then made her way towards the doors she had come out of, all the time muttering curses to herself.

"Quest, were dead!" cried Jessie as she stood up. "If were not in sixth block by the time rolls called, she'll know it was us."

"There's only one thing we can do," said Jonny, looking at Jessie. "Make a break for it. We can't go through the school, will have to go around the outside and try to find a way in."

"RUN!" Jessie said before taking off in the direction of their sixth block as Jonny raced behind her. They were half way to their destination when Jonny was hit with a deep, sinking realization.

"Hey Ace," he yelled over the noise of the wind passing them, "Information Technology is upstairs! How are we supposed to get in?!?"

"Its okay Hot Shot," replied Jessie glancing back at him, as she continued to sprint, "That's the class we have with the others, they'll know what to do."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kristen stepped into the sixth period classroom and took in a deep breath as she looked around. The right wall was lined with computers, while the left side had two huge windows that were separated by more computers. Mr. McClellan's desk faced away from the windows and she could barley make out his figure from behind the giant stacks of books and class work. She glanced out the window again as Kaylyn and Josh entered the classroom followed by two more seniors. The class was fairly small, with only ten students making up the roll.

Kristen eyes grew wide as they caught what she thought was long flaming red hair that was closely followed by short bleach blond. She stepped to the window and gasped. Jessie and Jonny were right outside, two storied below her. _Why weren't they inside?_ She watched as Jessie drew a single finger across her throat. Kristen immediately spun around to face Kaylyn and Josh who had glanced outside as well.

"Code Red, distraction," she said as she flicked her eyes towards Mr. McClellan. Kaylyn and Josh nodded.

"Mr. McClellan, can you help use with something?" asked Josh, pulling his jump drive from his pocket.

"Help them, we'll take care of him," whispered Kaylyn. Kristen went to the window and opened it.

Jessie was glad when she attracted Kristen's attention. She was even more ecstatic when her friend opened the window and asked in a sarcastic tone if they needed help.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" asked Jonny, "I didn't think you could fly."

Jessie turned and smiled at him. It just so happened that the window Kristen had opened was right next to where two walls formed an indented corner of brick. Jessie smiled to herself.

"Well, watch and learn Quest," replied Jessie with a smile as she took five giant steps back. She shot towards the wall, jumped to the right side of the indented corner, made contact and then pushed off to the left side; she then pushed off back to the right as her momentum carried her up towards the window. She reached out her hand and to Jonny's amazement, Kristen stretched out her right as well and grabbed Jessie's forearm. With a grunt, Kristen hauled Jessie up the wall and into the classroom window. Kristen and Jessie's heads stuck out of the window, huge smiles on their faces.

"Quest, close that mouth of yours," Kristen softly yelled, "and get your ass moving!"

"Jonny, your turn! Quick, class is about to start!" cried Jessie.

Jonny took five steps back and ran towards the wall; he copied Jessie's movements down to the end. His momentum didn't carry him as high as Jessie, and his foot slipped as he pushed off towards the window. Sure that he would fall, he was surprised to feel two strong hands around his forearm. He looked up to see Jessie and Kristen hanging halfway out the window. With one great heave they pulled him up and in through the window and into the classroom. They collapsed to the floor, sucking in air.

"Nice one Kris," thanked Jessie, "you saved our necks."

"Yeah," said Jonny, "Ditto."

"Any…time," Kristen said between breaths.

They were jerked to their feet by Kaylyn and Josh. Huge smiles on their faces.

"Mission complete?" asked Kaylyn.

Jessie and Jonny smiled in assurance. The five let out a breath that they had been holding in ever since they had started the pranks.

"If you guys could get to your computes," said Mr. McClellan, "I would like to take roll." The five sat in their seats in front of their computers.

"Bannon, you hear?" asked Mr. McClellan.

"Yes, sir."

"Josh?"

"Here."

"Hayes?"

"Here."

"Amy?"

"Here."

"Norkus?"

"Present."

"Quest?"

"Right here sir."

The rest of the seniors were called and then the class started.

"Good, we have a full class today. Now, were going to start Flash today, so I have some notes for you to take," said Mr. McClellan as he passed out the notes for the class. As soon as he was done, there was a nock at the door. He went over and welcomed in Miss. Davidson. Her eyes scanned the room and she froze when they fell on Jessie and Jonny. Apparently, she wasn't expecting them to be in class.

"Um, I'm sorry for interrupting Chase, but I have to ask you if you had anyone who was tardy to class?"

"Well, no, everyone was here on time and a little early like they always are." He replied with a smile. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. Her eyes glared at Jessie and Jonny as she apologized again for interrupting and then left the class.

"Now, where were we?" asked Mr. McClellan.

"The Flash notes, sir," replied Jessie.

With a smile he thanked her and turned to his computer as he put a slideshow on the T.V. The five exhaled again, and finally felt comfortable, safe.

"That was _way_ to close," stated Jonny.

"Yeah, but this has been the best month of my life," replied Jessie, "I mean, were seniors, what could have gon-

Four hands shot out and covered her mouth. They all knew the consequences of that one statement and they didn't want to try their luck. They had been doing that a lot lately, and it was time they gave it a break. The four withdrew their hands and Jessie gave a small sorry before placing a smile on her lips. The others nodded and smiled back.

**Sunday, 7:15 PM – Cambodia**

Estella stood at the edge of the waterfall. She looked out across the horizon as the sun descended behind the tall trees of the Cambodian rainforest. The setting sun illuminating her already fire red hair. She was so high up her emerald green eyes could see for miles, but it was getting dark and she needed to get back to the camp site. Still she stood, deep in thought about a certain red headed daughter. She felt the presence of Hadji beside her and it was only when he spoke to her that she looked over to him.

"It's getting late doctor," he said in a soothing voice, "we should head back to camp."

She smiled, she always liked Hadji. He was caring and kind and she had been glad when Race volunteered him to accompany her on the dig. They were looking for a precious stone that the locals called the Heart of Thunder. As described in legend, the stone had been blessed by the Gods and had many abilities- healing powers, granting wishes, turning solid objects to pure gold. As Hadji and Estella painstakingly searched the jungle for any signs of the Heart of Thunder, it happened that on the final day before the funding was cut, they stumbled upon the waterfall. With further examination of the rock wall behind the falls, they had discovered a huge hidden rock door. Although they hadn't set eyes upon the doors yet, Estella was sure the Heart of Thunder was there, it had to be. Her thoughts again drifted away from her work and towards her daughter.

"Do you think she's alright, Hadji?" she asked as she walked with him towards the jeep.

"She is fine my friend," he answered placing a hand on her shoulder, "besides, she's with Jonny."

"I know," Estella said giving him a side long glance, "that's what worries me."


	2. Dangers of Cambodia

**Sunday, 10:30 PM – Dig Site, Cambodia**

Hadji sat by the fire staring up at the starry sky, the noise from the others celebrating made him smile. He liked it in Cambodia, the forests and rivers reminded him of Bangalore. A deep longing hit his heart and he realized it had been some time since he stepped foot in his home country. His mind then traveled to Jonny and Jessie. He hadn't seen them in so long, and the truth was, he missed them. He missed their voices when they argued, and laughed, and he missed their presence around him. They made him feel comfortable, made him feel at home when, in reality, he was so far away from it. The sudden silence around him brought him out of his thoughts. _It's not supposed to be quiet_.

He stood up, his brows furrowing, and looked around. The image that met his eyes, he would never forget. The bodies of his friends littered the ground around him. His breath quickened, as he looked around the camp site, he didn't see her. Hadji ran to her tent, only to find it empty. His heart skipped a beat. _Where is she?!_

A soft, muffled cry made him dash outside. Red hair caught his eyes as he turned towards the left. A figure dressed in black was dragging the owner of the cry into the forest. Her fear filled emerald eyes met his, and he sprinted towards her and her captor. Loud shouts came from his right, and as he turned, he felt a sharp needle strike his neck. Instantly his legs gave out on him and he collapsed to his knees. He looked up to see six sets of dark eyes glaring down at him. What he thought were growls came from the six men, then after listening to the noise for a short time, he realized that they were…laughing at him. Obviously, they found his attempts to get back Estella amusing. He glared at the wolf print on their backs as they left him and followed the man that had carried Estella into the forest. He willed his legs to move as he stumbled towards the satellite phone Estella kept in her tent.

"Must…get help," he mumbles to himself, "Call…Quest's." His numbed hands fumbled with the phone as he dialed the number. He was glad when he heard Race's voice.

"Hello?"

"They took her…"

"Hadji! Is that you? What happened?! Took who?"

"Estella…" he mumbled before the darkness consumed him.

**Saturday, 9:30 AM – Quest Compound, California**

Jonny glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. _9:30_. His messy blond hair and pure blue eyes reflected the actions of Fridays events. Both he and Jessie had been completely drained of energy and he surprised even himself when he agreed to go to the movies so early in the morning. He sat at the kitchen table wondering why Jessie wasn't down yet. They were going to the movie with Kristen, Kaylyn and Josh at 10:30 and then going out to lunch afterwards.

"We're gonna be late," he mumbled to himself as Race popped his head into the kitchen.

"She's still in bed, Jonny," he said with a smile, "you two do something I should know about? I've never seen her, _this_ tired before."

Jonny shook his head as Race sighed and retreated from the kitchen.

As Jonny sat there, thinking about Jessie up in her room sleeping, a smile crossed his face. He stood up from his seat at the table and rummaged through the cupboard for the biggest pitcher he could fine. He then filled it halfway with ice and then put it under the kitchen facet as cold water spilled into it. As the water flowed in to the giant pitcher Jonny herd a noise from behind him, only to find that it was Race. Jonny smiled as Race gave him a suspicious look.

"Thirsty?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Uhhhhhh, yeah," Jonny replied as he grabbed the pitcher out of the sink and made a dash for the stairs.

"It's your funeral, Jonny!" Race yelled as Jonny took the stairs two at a time. When he reached the top he turned left and skidded to a halt in front of Jessie's door. He slowly opened it and found Jessie tangled up in the covers of her bed on the other side of the room. Jonny looked around, then he left the door slightly cracked in case he had to make a mad dash out. He took a deep breath, he had always liked the smell of Jessie's room, the way it made him feel comfortable and at home. He looked down at her carpeted floor as he proceeded to her bed.

_I can actually see her floor_.

Seeing the floor was a big contrast to his room, where his many dirty cloths littered the shiny hardwood. The light from Jessie's blinds gave the room an eerie glow that added to the comfort. The small rays of light caught the dust that was floating in the air and as Jonny made his way towards Jessie's bed he could finally make out her peaceful features. Smiling down at her, he almost regretted what he was about to do to. But that thought was drowned out as the telephone on her night stand rang. Jonny instantly knew he was caught, even before Jessie opened her eyes. He looked down at his friend only to see her shocked green eyes staring back at him.

"Jonny, don't you…" Jessie began as a smile played across Jonny's face. It took only a second, as time slowed; the freezing cold water hit Jessie square in the face. Jonny dropped the now empty pitcher and sprinted out of the room towards the stairs. He felt Jessie hot on his heals as he reached the top of the stairs.

"QUEST! YOU'RE DEAD!" she roared from behind him, "They won't even find your body when I'm done with you!"

Jonny smiled to himself as he rounded the corner into the kitchen, only to slam into the very muscular body of Race. He felt Jessie ram into his back and they both fell backwards onto the floor.

"You two go upstairs and pack your things," Race ordered, then turned to Jonny, "I'm going to call your father and tell him we're leaving."

"Where are we going?" Jonny asked as Race turned away from them.

"Cambodia," the older man murmured to them as he exited the kitchen. Jonny turned to Jessie, only to find his friend shaking slightly and wide eyed. The one thing he thought he would never feel from her was radiating off in waves…fear. The word she whispered made Jonny's breath catch in his throat.

"…mom…"

**Monday, 9:15 AM – Unknown Compound, Cambodia**

Estella felt the vibrations in the floor as her captor walked towards her cell. She was lying on her stomach, where they had dropped her hours earlier. She instantly knew they were coming for her even before the keys found the lock. She heard the door gnaw at the floor and the hinges squeak as it was forced opened. She refused to open her tired eyes as her captor entered her cell, she was too tired, and she just wanted to be left alone. She knew it was a man when he called out to her. The voice was soft and soothing, almost calm and it reminded her of someone she knew. He slowly coaxed her into looking at him, and in an instant she was up and backing away. She only got so far when she became aware of the cold metal wrapped around her wrists. She brought herself up and glared into the striking blue, but pale eyes of her captor.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why have you kidnapped me?" she demanded as her glare continued to penetrate him. To her surprise, he smiled and laughed at her.

"My name is Tadashi, you are in my organizations compound, and I am merely barrowing you," he said with a shrug, "But right now I would like you to come with me. I have something to show you." He motioned for the guards to come in and they took the chains off and handcuffed her hands behind her back. He smiled again as he lead her out of her cell and down the hall where they were greeted with white walls and numerous prison cells.

The further they walked the more cells she saw and when she got to a point, the cells and walls vanished only to be replaced with full length glass. Estella stopped in her tracks when she saw what was on the other side. The spaces weren't rooms at all…they were laboratories. Estella, as she was shoved in the back, counted at least one person in every lab and five scientists in white lab coats. Numbers of the prisoners were struggling against the straps that held them down to metal tables, there wide eyes pleading for help. Others were just lying there, like the dead. She looked at the glass and thanked god that it was sound proof because she would have been consumed by their screams and cries of pain.

"Wh-what are you doing to them?" she asked Tadashi hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer. To her dislike, she was greeted with another smile. This one was darker and made her skin crawl.

"I am somewhat of a scientist. I am fascinated with the unkno…" Estella cut him off before he could finish.

"This is not science," she said in disgust, "this is torture."

"Ahh, yes," Tadashi gave a heavy sigh, "it's amazing how many times those two subjects are used in the same sentence." Estella glared at him.

_How could someone do this to innocent human beings?_

She was so taken aback about how calm he was. She watched as one of his scientists on the other side of the glass inject a pure blue substance into a man strapped to a table. Estella instantly saw a change in the man's actions. He no longer struggled against his bonds; he went slack and started to breathe heavily, sweat glazing his forehead. Before Estella knew what happened, she was shoved in the back, a gesture that told her to start walking. She was brought into a warehouse. Jeeps and off road vehicles lined the outer walls as, what Estella thought were military personnel scattered about accomplishing their daily assignments. Tadashi stopped and turned to her.

"I'm wondering if you know the full extent of the situation your in Miss. Velasquez," She looked at him. Thoughts and ideas running through her head as she scanned the large warehouse.

"You're some kind of black market thug. You buy vehicles and stat-of-the-art weaponry from very powerful groups of terrorists," she paused, letting a beat pass as she looked around again, "my guess, you settle only for the best of everything. Your main subject is chemical warfare, as you told me earlier. You bought those poison darts you used on my team back at camp and also that virus you injected into that poor man back there," she flicked her head back the way they came. Slowly, a smile grew on Tadashi's face. Estella rolled her eyes.

_This guy smiles way too much._

"I am impressed. You've figured that much out with such little information," he stepped closer to her, "but you are mistaken about me buying the chemicals I use. You see, I am the one that _sells_ them. The poison darts you witnessed before were made in my earlier years when I had limited supplies. You will be relieved to hear that they aren't fatal, though I regret not making them," he noticed he had her attention now, "The substance you saw injected into that man back there is my most prized possession, and I only just finished it."

"What does it do?" asked Estella as she was lost in his pale blue eyes. Though she hated to admit it, he was rather, good looking for someone who was completely crazy.

"The main substance I used was scorpion venom and the poison is executed in three stages. Once injected, the subject experiences a very high fever. The second stage makes the fever change and drop to a hypothermic temperature. The virus then attacks the nervous system, eventually shutting down all the organs," he paused, "I am told that all three stages are almost unbearable, and that only two of our test subjects have endured the pain to the final stage," he smile to himself at the thought, "I call it Black Trinity."

"You created such a thing, why?"

"Because," Tadashi replied looking around, "I want to share my knowledge with the world. I love seeing my weapons used in combat and I am honored to be the supplier. I hope someday to be the most feared person in chemical warfare."

"So, where do I come in," she asked, "why kidnap me?" Tadashi smiled as he took another step towards her. His pure blue eyes a complete paradox to his dark personality that hid behind his smiles.

"Because…you're going to lead me to a very, special object. This object will make me famous and launch my materials into the real world," he paused, "You're going to lead me to the Heart of Thunder."

**Monday, 8:45 PM – Dig Site, Cambodia**

Jonny glanced around the dig site. He though it odd that it showed no evidence of its previous night. Or that it had no clues leading to the people who had taken Estella. Anger flared up in his being as he though about it and he glance over at Jessie. Her hands were at her side, clenched into fists of pure rage. She was scanning the area, probably looking for answers for the many questions she held in her mind. The only clue was the howling wolf Hadji had told them about, which was so little information. He took a step towards Jessie only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found himself staring back into Hadji's eyes.

"It is best to leave a raging tiger alone, my friend."

"I want to help her, Hadji." Jonny said as he started walking through the camp site, "I feel helpless, and you of all people know I don't like feeling helpless."

"I know Jonny, but she's fuming right now, let her cool off a bit, then go over," Hadji replied placing his other hand on his shoulder.

Jonny looked into his friends hazel eyes. Hadji had always been there for him whenever thighs got tight, but the one time Hadji needed him, Jonny was halfway around the world. He felt helplessness eating at his heart, and knew that it was nothing compared to Jessie's.

The voices of his father's and Race's caught his attention, and upon finding them, he froze instantly. They were shaking hands with members of Estella's' dig team. The sleeve on one of the men's arm had pulled up in the action. Although the arm was already littered with tattoos, Jonny was drawn to just one of them. The head of a howling wolf was surrounded by the flames of a dragon and Jonny instantly knew he had found the traitor. Hadji had told him of the howling wolfs on the back of the kidnappers shirts. He glanced over to Jessie, she was now standing and her fists were at her sides. Jonny instantly knew she had seen the tattoo to, and hoped to god she wasn't going to do anything reckless.

He kept watch over the group as they continued to talk and it was only when the men parted that he took a step towards them. The man with the tattoo however glanced over in his direction and the look on his face told Jonny that he knew. The man immediately spun on his heals and made his way to the edge of the forest. Jonny's eyes found Jessie as she quickly followed after him. He silently cursed to himself, the mental battle raging in his mind. Go after Jessie and most likely find the people after Estella's' kidnapping, or Take the time to tell his father and risk loosing Jessie's trail. Jonny quickly chose plan C. Hadji was a few yards away, while both fathers were no where to be found; Jonny could tell him and then go after Jessie.

"Hadji!" he yelled, catching his friend's attention, "Jessie found the traitor. She's going after him, I'm chasing, tell parents to follow and bring help!" He didn't wait for his friends questioning voice before he took off into the jungle after his reckless red headed friend.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jessie's anger fuelled her pace. Her determination to catch this man, the one who had betrayed her mother, was enormous and she was sure that she was catching up. The thought put a smile on her face as the branches of the jungle trees wiped at her head. Crashing from behind her caused her to look back, the bleach blond hair of her follower told her Jonny was not going to let her do this alone. Still, she didn't slow for him, he would catch up or stop and none of that mattered right now.

The jungle emptied out into a dirt path, and what little tracking her father had taught her told her was that the man had taken this route. She looked down and followed the fresh foot prints as Jonny came up behind her. His deep breathing made her smile.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" he asked between breaths.

"What dose it look like I'm doing," she snapped back without stopping or turning to him, "I'm following the man who betrayed my mother." His sarcastic laugh made her slow a little.

"Do you know how reckless this is? Darting off into the forest with no help, no backup, and no idea as to where you're going. They might have guns Jess!"

"Why did you come if you thought this was such a bad idea? You could have stayed back at camp and waited to tell our fathers."

"What?! O, I can see that conversation going well," he yelled at her, "Sorry Race, but I thought I should wait to tell you that Jessie ran off into the jungle, alone, chasing after the man responsible for Estellas kidnapping," he took a breath, his annoyance showing more than anger, "You thought I was going to let you run off into the Cambodian jungle, following someone that's most likely a bad guy, by yourself," he snapped back as he matched her stride.

"I'm glade you came," she whispered to the side, "and no, I didn't think about the consequences, but she's my mom Jonny, you can't have expected anything less."

"I know Jess. But I swear to God, if I die before I graduate high school, I'm gonna be pissed," he answered as they passed a wide open field, he paused, then asked, "do you know where your going?"

She smiled sideways at him, "Yeah, this guys foot prints are fresh, but he's moving faster than we are." she said as she picked up her pace, forcing Jonny to do the same, "This guy knows how to run away."

They half jogged the dirt road for what seemed like hours, finally hearing commotion up ahead as they neared a towering mountain. The sound of a motor and wheels on the dirt road meet the two from behind. Jessie glanced at Jonny before grabbing his dark blue t-shirt, pulling him off the road and into the forest. The truck past and the howling wolf insignia was plastered across the front hood. Jessie smiled at Jonny; they had found them, whoever they were.

"We should get closer, I have to see what were up against." Jonny whispered from beside her. Jessie's smile made him uncomfortable, "What?"

"You're curious," she whispered back as she moved through the underbrush. But the two weren't ready for what they saw. A high metal fence was surrounding the entrance, where two, open, silo doors were worked into the rock wall of the mountain. Jeeps and Trucks littered the open area along with people, no, soldiers. Almost all of the men carried weapons, weather they were slung across their shoulders or in ready positioned hands.

"We are so in over our heads here, Jess," Jonny breathed out from beside the red head. Her sharp intake of breath made him look at her only to find that she was staring straight ahead. He followed her gaze and saw a woman with flaming red hair standing next to a very tall man. Her hands were handcuffed behind her and she was flanked by two guards. Before Jonny could stop her, Jessie ran to the fence bordering the compound. The men had led the woman away, but Jonny knew it had been Estella. The voices of men shouting brought him out of his thoughts and he dashed to Jessie's side.

"What the HELL are you doing?! Are you crazy?!" he yelled at her as he pulled her back away from the fence, "We have to get out of here!" Gunshots were heard just before the tree branches above the two's head ripped apart. Jessie wrenched her arm free and pushed Jonny ahead of her into the forest.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jonny ran for it, pumping his legs, willing his body to go faster. The Cambodian forest seemed much denser as he tried to find his was back to the road they had followed in. It had seemed to take a short time to reach the unknown compound when Jonny and Jessie were following the man. But now, he realized, they were miles from their campsite, miles from help and he cursed himself for even following the traitor in the first place without thinking about the consequences. He glanced back and through the dense foliage he saw flashes of flaming red hair. This told him Jessie was close behind. Reassurance flooded his mind and he told himself that they would be safe and reach the road in no time. But he was sure that the soldiers had, in fact, seen them, considering that they had been shot at. But he was confused to as why they hadn't followed. His thoughts were interrupted as he entered a wide clearing. He thanked god as he glanced up and saw their dirt road at the other side of the field.

"Ace, you ok back there?" he yelled back at the red head as she entered the clearing behind him.

"Yeah Hot Shot, I'm fin…" her voice cut off as he felt her getting farther and farther away from him. Jonny halted to a stop and turned around to find his friend stopped dead in her tracks, her emerald eyes filled with fear.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jessie found Jonny's blue eyes. He was a good distance ahead of her but still wasn't out of range. He started to yell her name but she just shook her head and looked down at what she had felt underneath her left foot. She could just make out a metal, circular shape and her fear was realized. The sinking horror of what they had blindly run into also hit her like a punch to the gut. If she hadn't slowed down, trying to listen to see if they were being followed, she didn't think she would have noticed the tiny crunch the metal made as her left foot crashed onto it. The unevenness of the ground was what made her stop and look down. She was jerked from her thoughts as Jonny called out to her.

"Jessie! What are you doing?!" he yelled in desperation, "We have to go!"

"Can't," said replied shaking her head.

"What! What are you talking about?!" he pleaded with her, "Why?!"

"I'm standing on a land mine, Jonny," she watched as the blond boys eyes grew wide in terror, "I'm not going anywhere."


	3. Reunion and Desperation

Jessie saw the fear in her friend's eyes. She had to get Jonny to leave her, to get him away from the area and tell his father and Race where Estella was. But she laughed at the thought. Jonny was a loyal friend, and she knew no matter how hard she pleaded with him, he wouldn't leave her. His stubbornness was annoying sometimes, but at that moment, she really didn't want to be alone. Just to prove her thought, he appeared beside her, eyes locking with hers.

"You sure you can't move?"

"Yeah, I take my foot off this thing," she shifts her eyes to the ground, "and you and me go boom."

"Well, I hate to break it to you," Jonny said glancing behind her, "but that thing isn't the worst of our problems. We have company."

"Yeah, I was wondering when they were gonna get here." she twisted around to face the five men advancing towards them, never lifting her foot. The man in front, Jess thought to be the leader, was tall, built and had shaggy brown hair. A vertical scar ran down over his left eye and he, along with his buddies where accessorized with AK-47 tactical rifles. The four that followed weren't as tall, but equally built, and they shared the same, bowl hair cut. Their wide grins showed dirty and un-brushed teeth and the scowl Jessie threw back at them made the grins even wider.

To Jessie's surprise, Jonny stepped in between her and their attackers. His defiant stance told her that he wasn't leaving. She couldn't help rolling her eyes at the gesture; he was going to get himself killed. Now that, was going to be a hard story to tell Benton.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the one in front asked as his smile grew wider and he turned to his buddies, "this boy wants to be a hero."

"Jonny, don't…," she began but he cut her off.

"Jess, stop, I can't leave you here, and if you move we all go boom." To her surprise, the shock that she was expecting to see on their attackers faces was replaced with loud laughs.

"Stepped on one of our little land mines did you? Well, welcome to Cambodia," the leader laughed out. He nodded his head towards Jonny and two of his men shot out and grabbed his arms and forced them behind his back. He let out a yelp of surprise as the leader advanced on Jessie.

"Now, my name is Ethan and we aren't gonna have any fun if you cant move off of that mine, so I'm gonna help you out," he said as he bent down and reached for the land mine, "now don't move and don't try to run, or I'm gonna have to hurt your friend over there." Jessie nodded and waited for her chance. Her body was ready, and her mind was in attack mode waiting for her opportune moment. Ethan reached down and pulled a couple wires out, two blue, one red. His fingers hovered over the two blue wires, almost like he didn't know which one to pull. Finally he picked one and to Jessie's relief, she didn't go boom. He then stripped the blue and red wire and proceeded to twist them around each other. He finally leaned back on his heals, showing that he was done.

Jesse's foot was a blur as she sent in towards his head. When it connected, she let a smile cross her face as Ethan fell backwards, his hands hovering over his bleeding nose. She glanced back at Jonny when he cried out, and time slowed for her. She saw Jonny freeze and she turned to face the man attacking her. His eyes were filled with uncontrolled fury and he was in mid swing with the end of his rifle. It slammed into her ribs and forced the air from her lungs. The second blow to the same spot sent her to her hands and knees. She gasped for air even as her rib protested the action. She heard Jonny begin to call her name but she silenced him with a sharp look. _That's what they want_, she told herself. She saw Jonny's eyes grow wide and turned to Ethan. He was in mid swing again, but this blow slammed into the left side of her head. A violent flash of light, as dots formed around the edges of her vision and she blinked the blood out of her eye. She tried to push herself up but the second blow sent her to the ground. She landed hard on her back and felt more blood run down the side of her face. She looked at Jonny as her vision tunneled, her eyes were half open now and she tried to stay conscious. She wanted to stay awake, to make sure they weren't going to hurt Jonny…that the two of them were going to get out of this, but their chances of that were fading along with her vision.

The numbness spreading through Jesse's body was less painful than she would have imagined. Her body shook slightly as her mind searched for answers.

_Who were they? Why did they take my mom? What are they going to do with us?_

Her thoughts were muddled by a growing heaviness inside her. Nothing was making scenes. She felt like her conciseness was slowly shutting down, lulled by an invisible force pulling her to sleep. She fought it. The pain in her ribs told her she was still awake and it was intensifying every minute she breathed. She could already feel a burse forming, if they weren't broken already. Her head throbbed and the blood continued to flow from what she could only imagine as a huge gash on the left side of it. Trying to focus on the conversation Jonny was having with Ethan made her head swim and she immediately dropped the subject of thinking altogether.

Summoning what little strength she had left, Jessie tried to sit up. Her limbs felt like granite, all her joints screaming in pain at the slightest movement. Then, in an instant, she felt herself being forced up, pulled by an unfriendly foe. Her shoulders screamed in protest as Ethan's men grabbed them and her legs refused to work properly as they half dragged half carried her back to the edge of the forest, where they probably had a jeep waiting. Through her pain filled eyes she glanced sideways and found Jonny's worried face, his bright blue eyes shone with concern. She managed a weak smile but winced when she was jerked roughly to the side. She looked up in time to see an old jeep before she was roughly thrust into the back. There was a second loud thud, and she figured that Jonny had been pushed in behind her.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The instant Jonny was thrown into the back of the jeep he was at Jessie's side. Her eyes were still open, but unfocused, and she gave him a weak smile that turned into a grimace. Her head wound was still bleeding, but only slightly. The blood trail covered the entire left side of her face and flowed down her neck to her shirt where it stained her left shoulder. He felt the car jump to life and then they were off into the forest. He cupped Jesse's face in his hands and held it steady.

"Jess. Are you alright?" his eyes searched her face for an answer.

"…yeah…"she panted. Her eyes were beginning to focus and Jonny could tell she was getting a hold of herself. "What happened?"

"Well." he said taking a breath, "Bad guys. Fight. You lost. Jeep."

"Yeah…I figured that much when I saw the gun coming towards me," she said groggily as she tried to sit up. He wasn't able to gently push her down before pain crossed her face and she sent a hand to her ribs. She managed to pant out a small 'damn' before she allowed him to push her back down.

"You gotta take it slow Jess," he told her as the jeep raced through the forest, occasionally jerking up or to a side, "you don't want to cause any more damage."

"I'm fine. Nothing I haven't felt before," she breathed out as she succeeded in sitting up in the old jeep. The forest was flying by them, and Jonny had no doubt that they would be back at the compound soon. As if on cue, the jeep came to a screeching halt that slammed Jonny into the trunk door, Jessie was thrust onto him as well. He was almost surprised, the good twenty minutes it had taken both of them to run away, was covered in five with a jeep, he pushed down the small laugh he had in his chest. In an instant, hands were pulling him from the back of the jeep and threw him roughly to the ground, the air leaving his lungs from the impact. He heard a yelp of pain from behind him as Jessie hit the hard ground after him. Just like that he was being pulled up by his shoulders and dragged towards an all too familiar fortress.

The entrance was so misleading, Jonny thought to himself. Upon entering the two silo doors, he was greeted with all sorts of vehicles; they lined the walls and littered the floor in front of him. He could only see one set of doors in the hanger and they were being dragged towards them. The dirt had turned to concrete under his feet as both he and Jessie were dragged through the entrance. His hopes were crushed as he heard the giant silo doors screech to a close behind him. His wide eyes caught the attention of Ethan who had the beginning of a crooked smile on his face.

"We're gonna keep you for a while, I think the boss likes you."

"Great…" Jonny replied as he was dragged through the door at the far end of the entrance hanger. Ethan stopped at the top of a stone stair case that descended down into the earth, probably leading to where they were keeping Estella. Jonny stole a glance at Jessie only to see her breathing heavily, eyes focused forward.

"Tadashi should be waiting for us down at the cells," one of the men holding Jonny announced. Ethan nodded and they started their decent. Jonny's idea was realized when he was met with metal cadge after metal cadge when they reached the bottom. At the end of the hall, standing in front of one of the many cells, was a tall, well built, intimidating man.

His black t-shirt was covered in white tribal designs. The body of a wolf was lunging up the left side, its eyes, were the only colored part of the shirt. They were a pale blue which matched Tadashi's and the way the body was drawn had the wolf staring straight at anyone who was in front of him. Tadashi's body was also complimented with a huge, black, tribal tattoo that crawled from his left wrist, up his arm that then disappeared beneath the black t-shirt. The tattoo surfaced from beneath the left collar and finished just below Tadashi's left ear. His ear was pierced with a small metal stud that resembled a wolf's head, and he wore a necklace with a symbol Jonny couldn't recognize. What Jonny could tell as the same calligraphy as the necklace was etched onto his right fore arm. He was very tan and his hair was cut short, but only to the point where it spiked on its own, and the color was the darkest brown.

As Jonny was dragged closer, a felling began to form in his stomach. Fear. For the man he was staring at had anger radiating off of him in waves. His blue eyes were not like Jonny's, but pale and worn down. The anger and rage they held made gooses bumps surface on his arms. Jonny realized that the man called Tadashi was glancing from him to Jessie. Jonny glanced sideways and saw that she was still breathing heavily and sweat glazed her brow. Her half closed, exhausted eyes found his and she gave him a small, soft smile. He finally realized that he, too, was panting heavily and his navy blue t-shirt was soaked and sticking to his back with sweat.

When they came to a stop in front of Tadashi, movement from inside the cell to his left caught his attention and Jessie also turned to look. Jessie went ridged and Jonny sucked in a much needed breath. His eyes met emerald green ones, not to much different than Jessie's, and short flaming red hair.

"…mom…" the girl beside him panted out.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

After the long, never ending tour of Tadashi's compound, Estella had been thrust back into her dark cell. After her tour of the laboratory, Tadashi had noticed her dislike and uneasiness. He had taken her to get food and had carried on halfhearted conversations with her to try and improve her mood. He had, whether he had meant to or not, divulged many thing to her. They were named the Purifiers, and he had, from the beginning, funded her dig just to get her to Cambodia.

She thought it strange, that, when she was around Tadashi she didn't feel threatened or in danger. He seemed to be very respected by his people and although he was somewhat of a 'mad scientist' he was down to earth and relaxed. She often seemed to lose herself in his pale blue eyes and his smile and laugh took her breath away. She would rather be with him than alone and unprotected down in her cell.

_How strange to think I'm now comfortable around him now, after I know what he's capable of_.

Tadashi had been nice enough not to shackle her hands, and it seemed that he was trying to make her stay, however long it would be, more comfortable. He still kept his distance, weather for safety reasons, or just out of reflex. He was, though, she hated to admit it, rather good looking for being the evil mastermind.

_Great, you're falling for the bad guy!_

She looked up and realized that he had been carrying on a conversation the entire time, and apparently just made a rather funny joke. His eyes were closed and his mouth was half open. His ringing laughter filled the many cells surrounding them and she couldn't help but bite her lip to hold back a smile.

"Laughing at one of your own jokes again, Tadashi?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, it didn't accomplish what I hoped it would," he said with a smile, "You know, I would like to see you relaxed, at least for a little bit while your here."

Before she had time to answer sarcastically, his head snapped to the side, eyes narrowing, staring at what now Estella could hear as people approaching them. She slowly inched away to the back of the cell. She had almost forgotten how easily his moods could change. He had been joking a minute ago and in an instant, his hands were at his sides, knuckles white and his jaw was clenched in pure, clod hearted fury. It radiated off of him in waves, and she wondered how someone so laid back and down to earth could lose complete control like this.

Her breath caught in her throat when the people stopped in front of him and she almost cried out when she saw Jessie and Jonny. Before she realized what she was doing, she was at the front of the cell and had locked eyes with her daughter. She held back a sob when Jessie called out her name. Anger filled her being as she found the deep wound that was on the left side of her daughters head. It looked as if it had stopped bleeding but the dried blood trail flowed down Jessie's head and neck to her shirt. The burse that was surfacing was monstrous and already turning a deep black and blue. She was about to say something when Tadashi spoke.

"Ethan…I thought I told you not to harm them," he bit out through clenched teeth. One of the men holding Jessie spoke up. Although Estella and the rest of the people in close proximity to Tadashi had fear in their eyes, this man was oblivious to the danger he was stepping into.

"Well, everything was going fine until this one," he glanced down at Jessie's exhausted form, "decided to try and break my nose." Estella barley had time to bite back her smile before Tadashi was in motion. Ethan had no time to back away. His eyes only grew wide as he stared down the barrel of Tadashi's black handgun. Where he had pulled it from, Estella would never know. The fury in Tadashi's eyes extinguished as his shoulder relaxed. Ethan let out a tiny yelp as Tadashi added the crucially needed pressure to the trigger. The mans head snapped back as his body convulsed once, then it went limp, letting go of Jessie who whimpered as she fell faced first to the floor. He fell backwards and landed with a thud on the ground, blood already pooling beneath him.

"My orders are final, do we understand each other?" Tadashi asked in a calm voice. With the situation slowly catching up with Estella, she glanced at Ethan's lifeless body, to Tadashi, then back to Ethan. Her mouth was open like she was going to say something, but her mind couldn't put together words, or rather, it refused to at the moment. Jessie's small whimper from the ground drew her attention and she tried to inch through the bars to get closer to her daughter.

"Now, put the two kids in the cell," he ordered and then paused before adding, "gently." The remaining men dragged Jessie and Jonny into the cell and then slowly backed away as they met Estella's anger filled eyes. She was relieved when the men began to drag Ethan's body away from her cell, although the red blood trail was never going to go away. Tadashi seemed to be returning back to, what she could call 'normal', as he glanced down at her and then to Jessie's still form on the cell floor.

"I am sorry things turned out this way," he said through sympathy filled eyes, "I'll bring down some water and bandages right away," and then he bowed to her and backed away towards the stairs. She stood at the bars of the cell, unable to comprehend her current situation. Tadashi completely and utterly confused her, and although she thanked God for his sympathetic side, the other one was a complete mystery to her. Jonny's voice made her turn around and collapsed on her knees next to Jessie.

"We found you," the boy said softly, finding the older woman's emerald green eyes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jessie was well aware that the bang she heard was from a gun, and that Ethan had dropped her only moments after. When her body hit the ground, she felt his drop to the floor behind her. The smile of satisfaction she had on her face turned to a grimace of pain as her ribs flared up again, a small whimper escaping her lips. Then she was being dragged into her mother's cell and she landed with a thud on her stomach. She smiled as she heard Jonny's concerned voice and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she rolled over onto her back.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, although it didn't hold the bite he wanted it to.

"You're always so concerned. I told you I'm fine," she assured him as she started to sit up. She rose up slowly, and it wasn't until she was fully upright that her head started to spin and she slumped into her mothers kneeling body. Her head brushed hard against the fabric of her mother's shirt, and she could feel the dried blood rip away. Before she knew it, her mother's shirt was wet with her blood.

"Mom, your shirts gonna get ruined…" she said as she willed her head back against the wall of the cell. She looked into her mom's green eyes, and successfully pulled out a smile.

"Yeah, well," Estella said looking down at her red stained shoulder, "I never really like this shirt anyway." Jonny shifted uncomfortably in his position next to her, obviously not convinced that she was fine. Jessie rolled her eyes. Although she did appreciate his concern, it was getting old.

"Jonny, I'm fine, really," she tried to assure him again, "my head hurts and the dizziness is probably just a sign of a bad concussion." Before he had time to answer her, Jessie caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her body went ridged and she clenched her fists. Estella and Jonny froze at her movements, and they only relaxed when a familiar voice rang out.

"I brought some water and a first aid kit. I hope its all you needed," Tadashi said smoothly from the other side of the bars. Jessie's eyes went to his hands. The right was occupied with a bowl of water and a rag was draped over his arm, the left held the first aid kit.

Her eyes grew even wider when she saw the larger than normal, jet black wolf sitting on its hunches by his right side. Although the wolf was huge, Jessie had been draw to its eyes. The brightest and most clear blue eyes she had ever seen on and animal stared back at her. The blackness of its coat only seemed to add to the eyes brightens, and Jessie found herself unable to look away.

"I'm going to unlock to door and come in," his hand found the keys in his pocket and the lock clicked open. Before he could take a step into the cell, the black wolf beat him to it. Jessie saw its tail go between its legs and its ears flattened against its head as it slowly made its way towards her. All the while, its eyes were locked with hers and she faintly heard Tadashi let out a breath. Jessie smiled when the wolf's, cold, wet nose found her left hand, and let out a small laugh when it started to lick it. She reached up and started scratching the back of its ears when Tadashi entered the cell.

"It seems Blue has found a liking in your daughter, Estella," he said with a small laugh, though Jessie could see it in his eyes that he had been surprised by the wolf's actions. She watched as he walked forward and knelt next to her mother. He then handed her the small first aid kit and set down the bowl of water.

"Doesn't she like everyone?" Jonny questioned him, but his eyes narrowed as it was answered by a small laugh.

"Well, not exactly," Tadashi sighed out, "the last person that tried to touch her lost his hand." Jessie saw him smile when Jonny's eyes grew wide. "She doesn't exactly like to be touched. Most of my men stay well away from her, and I'm afraid she's been a bit lonely lately." The statement was met by a small whine from Blue.

"Why, a wolf?" Jessie asked as she continued to scratch Blue's ears. She was met by a small smile from Tadashi.

"I thought it would have been obvious by now. I am somewhat…obsessed with wolves. They are a symbol of power and loyalty, a characteristic that I try to find in most of my men, although, regrettable, not all the time. They also function as a pack and family and that's something that I envy above all others, and I am proud to say that much of my dreams would not have come to fruition if it wasn't for the help of my friends and family," he took a breath, "Who you chose to be around you, lets you know who you are."

A new voice broke through their conversation. Jessie broke eye contact with Blue to look at the new figure. To her surprise, she was staring at a woman who looked strikingly like Tadashi. Her long, dark brown hair ended at mid back and she had well built, with square shoulders. The same pale blue, but stronger eyes than Tadashi stared back into the cell. Her height was what caught Jessie off guard. Tadashi was tall as it was, and this new girl almost matched his height. When her voice rang out, it carried the same, silky, smooth flow that his had as well.

"Tadashi, your stupid, over eccentric, little brother wants to see you upstairs."

With a smile he stood up and made his way to the front of the cell. "Haley, name calling is a little childish, don't you think."

"It's not childish if it's the truth," she playfully shot back.

His ringing laughter filled the cell. When it calmed he spun on his heals, locking eyes with the group behind him, "Estella, I would like you to meet my older sister, Haley."

Jessie was caught off guard by the statement. "_Older_ sister?" Her question was met by a small grunt from Haley.

"Yes, _older_ sister," she breathed out, then giving Tadashi a sidelong glance, "I thought you were only gonna nab the doc., not the whole family, Tadashi?"

"Yeah, well, the two little one's decided to follow us, and then didn't want to stay, so I sent Ethan to fetch them back."

"I see. He did a number on the girl, didn't he," she glanced to the ground beside her. Jessie looked as well and saw the blood stain that Ethan's body had left, "That would explain the blood trail…damn, he was so good looking," she said with a sarcastic laugh then shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't really like him, couldn't follow orders."

"I agree," he turned to Estella, "I must go and see what my brother wants. I will be back later for your answer to my…situation," he glanced down to the black wolf that was still getting its ears scratched by Jessie.

"Blue, come on, lets go," he was met by a loud whine from the wolf and Jessie let out a small laugh. "Blue, you can see your new friend later. I promise." With that, Jessie took one long look into Blue eyes and then the wolf was at Tadashi's side. Tadashi and Haley vanished from site as quickly as they came, leaving the three, speechless in the back of the cell.

Jessie saw Jonny glance at her mom, eyes full of questions. Jessie herself had just a few to ask her mother, but Jonny beat her to it.

"Estella, what did he mean?" Jessie saw her mom shift uncomfortably under the difficulty of the question. She then proceeded to take the rag, soak it in the water and place it on Jessie's head.

"OW!!" Jessie whined, "Jeez, be careful, would you!"

"Well, if you stopped squirming, I'd be able to get a good look at it," Estella snapped out, though she let a small smile escape onto her lips.

"How is it, that when you get kidnapped, it's by the most dangerous, craziest, and weirdest organization slash family in the country?" Jonny added in, "Like, honestly, how dose that happen? Because, I really don't understand." The laughs that escaped his lips were extinguished with a sharp glare from Estella.

"It's not my fault he wants me to show him where the Heart of Thunder is," Jessie's eyes grew wide at her mother's statement. Her mothers face showed that she had said too much, and she quickly changed the subject, "This situation wouldn't be half as bad if you two weren't here. How the hell did you find out I was taken, anyway?"

"Hadji called us," Blake replied.

"He's ok!?" Estella asked in excitement, "My dig team, everyone's ok?"

"Yeah. Whatever they were hit with wore off in a couple of hours," Jessie explained, "They were pulling themselves together when we got their. I might add though, that Hadji was a little upset with himself that he let them take you."

"It's not his fault," Estella sighed out, "I'm glad he's alright. They could have killed him."

"Since were on the subject of _they_," Jonny cut in, "Who exactly are, _they_? I mean, besides the fact that _they_ are run by a family of nutcases."

Jessie let out a small laugh as her moms hand drew away from her head. The whole left side of her head and neck was wet, but she was now confident that it wasn't from blood, which made her feel a lot better. Her mom gently placed on some antiseptic cream and a bandage before she answered Jonny's question.

"There the Purifiers, basically a low-level organization that has ties to the black market. Tadashi makes biological weapons, and damn good one's from what I've seen," she gritted her teeth as she continued; "He's the one that most likely funded my dig. Although I hadn't figured that out till it was too late. He had wanted me from the beginning."

"He wants you to find the Heart of Thunder," Jessie breathed out as she made eye contact with her mom, who nodded in silent agreement.

"What's the Heart of Thunder?" Jonny asked, apparently feeling left out.

"Come on Jonny. Are you serious?" Jessie laughed out at him. She was greeted with wide eyes and a shrug of the shoulders. She took a breath and rolled her eyes,

"It's a stone said to be blessed twice by the Norris God Odin. Healing powers, immortality, that sort of thing. It was given to his son Thor as a weapon for The Final Battle. During Ragnarok, which means "fate of the gods", Thor implanted the stone into Mjolnir; his hammer and used it to fight the Midgard Serpent. But the Serpent tore the stone out of the hammer and killed Thor. The stone was found after the battle, a distraught Odin, blessed the stone again, naming it after his dead son who controlled the element of thunder. It's basically a sacred, pure object, not capable of doing harm. "

"If that's true, he would only have access to the cures of his epidemics, plagues and whatnot, but that makes no sense. So why would he want it?"

"That's exactly what he wants," Estella whispered, as Tadashi's intentions came to her, "when he releases the Black Trinity, his organization is going to be the _only_ one with the cure. He'd make millions with the antidote alone, and with the Heart of Thunder he would have an infinite supply of it."

"So, what, this is all about making money?" Jonny laughed out, "God, why cant bad guys find a new calling? Like saving the rainforest or stopping Global Warming."

"It's not about the money, Jonny," Jessie said as she rolled her eyes, "With lots of money, comes lots of power, and that's really the only thing bad guys ever want. Power. Fear. Respect."

"So I was a little off, sue me," Jonny shot back, "Not making lots of money, but ruling the world…great," he leaned back on his heals and scratched the back of his had, "Well, I guess its time to save the world again, is it?"

"Absolutely," Jessie said with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But I still can't believe you two are here," Estella glanced from Jessie to Jonny, "Your fathers are going to _kill_ me."

A small laugh was emitted from the shadows outside the cell. Jessie focused on the very muscular frame of Tadashi's older sister Haley as she stepped out of the shadows, a smile on her angular face. "My brother wasn't joking about you. You know your stuff."

"Well, it is kind of my job," Estella snapped back at her.

"True," Haley rounded with a smile, "but I am surprised that you have forgotten the cardinal attribute that the Heart of Thunder holds. It is, by far, one of my favorites."

Jessie narrowed her eyes. Her skin was crawling; goose bumps had appeared on her arms as soon as Haley had stepped out of the shadows. Something was not right. The shine in Haley's eyes made Jessie uncomfortable and her fear of the woman grew.

Haley walked forward and knelt just outside the bars of the cell, a smile still plastered on her face, "the Heart of Thunder calls to the Wild Hunt."


	4. The Black Trinity

**Chapter Four: The Black Trinity**

Jessie wasn't sure she had heard her right. The Wild Hunt was a myth, a legend. It couldn't possible be true. She glanced around, passing Jonny's wide blue eyes, and came to rest on her mothers. Estella's eyes were also wide, and Jessie could see that they held fear. Her mothers' dropped jaw told her that Haley was telling the truth.

"You can't possible think you can control _him_, do you?" Jessie bit out, realizing that they were in trouble if they were to face The Wild Hunt. Haley's back straightened, and then she relaxed and let a smile creep onto her lips.

"Control who?" Jonny cut in. Jessie couldn't help but roll her eyes; he was not helping their situation. Haley let out a small laugh and rocked back on her heals.

"Odin, the leader of the Hunt, and King of the Gods" she said looking at Jonny, his confused look made her continue, "The Wild Hunt is a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground. The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender."

"It sounds like a harmless myth," Jonny cut her off.

"You didn't let me finish," Haley rounded, her eyes still locked with Jonny's, "Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Mortals getting in the path of or following the Hunt could be kidnapped and brought to the land of the dead. Now, whoever holds the summoning stone, can control the Hunt, which is basically made up of immortals."

"But if they steal your soul, how can you control them?" Jonny asked, eyebrows raised, "Wouldn't they just kill you and go on their way, doing whatever Gods do these days?"

"It doesn't matter," Estella said through clenched teeth, "you'll never find it."

"That's why I'm here," Tadashi's smooth voice said from the darkness behind Haley. Jessie watched as he stepped out of the shadows, flanked by, who she thought to be his younger brother and three other guards.

"I hope you've reconsidered my offer, Estella," he asked as he approached the bars. Jessie looked to her mother and found her eyes no longer filled with fear but defiance.

"I'm sorry," the older woman breathed out, "but I'm going to have to decline." Jessie glanced back at Tadashi. To her surprise, his eyes softened, and to Jessie they almost looked…sad. Something clicked in the back of her mind that told her something was about to happen. She knew that look. It was regret. Haley stood up and took out the cell key and opened the door, her brother's men close behind her. Jessie watched as the younger brother reach into his pocket and pull out an injection syringe full of some pale blue liquid. As soon as Haley took the syringe from her brother, Jessie was on her feet, Jonny close behind her.

"Whatever you're planning, I'm not going to let it happen," Jessie threatened, her eyes staring down Haley. Jessie watched as Haley smiled and then the woman was inches away from her. Jessie felt a small prick of pain in her stomach and she looked down to see Haley's hand moving away, Jessie's eyes catching the pale blue color of the liquid in the syringe sticking out of her own skin. The cell was silent as the syringe emptied into Jessie's body, no one moving until it was done. The guard to Jessie's right moved towards her mother, but Jessie ripped the syringe out and stopped him with a quick punch to the face. She smiled as the bone broke, the cell filled with his painful scream. He crumpled backwards as Jonny jumped on the other guard, Jessie rounding on Haley. Their eyes locked and they lunged at each other. Jessie threw a quick punch to Haley's face, only to have it blocked. Haley took the opportunity to throw a closed fist to Jessie's stomach, where her brushed ribs already rested. The red head took in a mouthful of air as she went to her knees, trying to fill her screaming lungs.

"Haley, back off," Tadashi's voice commanded from outside the cell.

Jessie was about to press forward on the sister when a small pain flared up in her chest, making her freeze. She took slow, controlled breaths to try and quench the flames, only to find that breathing in general was making it worse. As the adrenaline left her body, she let out a small gasp when the pain grew and she felt her mother and Jonny instantly at her side. Her pulse was racing and every heart beat she felt in her head seemed to increase the pain.

"Jess, what wrong?" it was Jonny's voice, although it was getting harder and harder to hear him, or anything else for that matter. The pain was everywhere, engulfing her, filling her vision and conciseness, she felt nothing else. Jessie sent a hand to her chest as another wave of pain washed over her. Then, the world tilted, and she felt herself stumbling sideways.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jonny caught Jessie as she fell into him, letting her slid to the ground. He glanced from Tadashi to the empty syringe on the floor. His eyes were drawn back to Jessie as he heard her short gasps for air. Sweat was already glazing her brow and her emerald eyes were fading in and out of focus.

_She's in pain!_

"What did you do to her!" he yelled angrily at Tadashi, who was watching the situation from behind the cell bars. Haley and the other men had exited while Jonny and Estella had gone to Jessie's side.

"She only made it spread faster by fighting. The faster your blood flows the faster the Trinity is carried throughout the body," he answered. Jonny felt Estella's form beside him go ridged, and he looked to her. Her face was filled with the deepest fear he had ever seen.

"If you tell me where the Heart of Thunder is, we will have the power to save her," before Estella could answer, Jessie's hand grasped her sleeve.

"…mom…don't…" her words broken up into pants and gasps as her hands went back to clutching at her chest, trying to calm the pain engulfing her. Jonny looked into Estella's eyes, searching for the answers to so many of his questions. She only looked back down to her daughters panting form and then rounded on Tadashi.

"How could you do this Tadashi, she's and innocent kid!" she bit out through clenched teeth. To Jonny's horror, Tadashi snorted and smiled before he leaned closer to the cell bars and towards Estella, a sneer curling on his lips.

"There is no such thing as an innocent being in this world, Estella. That is one of the most important lessons I have learned over the years…To make you feel better, that quantity of the Black Trinity was meant for the boy, not her," he shifted his gaze downward to Jessie and then found Estella's eyes again, "but you see, the really only true weakness people like you have, Estella, are the beings that fill up your life, the ones that truly matter to you. So the only thing you should be angry about is the love that you and your daughter share, because in the end…that's what killed her."

The cell bars were the only thing keeping Jonny from lunging at this man, this man that thought himself to be God, Jonny _loathed_ him. The fury he was feeling now was radiation off of him and Estella like rays from the sun. He smiled when the two guards took a step back, away from the fuming mother. When Estella spoke, it felt like the earth was shaking. The pure hatred it carried made Jonny shift an inch away from her, not really certain if the cell bars would be enough to stop _her_ from lunging at Tadashi's throat.

"Where's the antidote, Tadashi?"

To Jonny's confusion, Tadashi's eyes brightened, almost like he was enjoying the conversation with Estella. Enjoying the situation Jessie was in, the situation _he_ had put her in. He was rocking back and forth on his heals, a smile plastered on his angular face, the actions made him look like a ten-year-old waiting to be asked the million dollar question that only he knew the answer to. The next moment; however, would be burned into Jonny's mind for the rest of eternity.

"There isn't one, the effects are irreversible," he answered slowly with a smile, letting the words hit the mother and best friend in front of him.

The atmosphere froze, no one spoke. The only noise and movement was Estella collapsing backwards, her eyes locked with the smiling Tadashi. Jonny's mind went blank, denial setting in. Maybe he hadn't heard right, there was no possible way that it could be true. He then glanced back to Tadashi, the man's smile widening when he found the beaten mother. With a flick of his head, the cell doors were opened and Jonny was to far in shock to care what they were going to do. His body was pulled back to the wall where his hands were then chained; he heard Estella's desperate pleas for Tadashi to stop as she was chained on the other side of the cell. Jonny only snapped back to reality when a small, pain-filled whimper was emitted from Jessie's body as her hands were chained to the floor in the center of the cell. Then the events of a few moments ago slammed into him like a Mac truck. He lunged at the closest guard, but the chains held him strong, cutting into his wrists with every burst forward. He stopped his struggles when Tadashi spoke and the anger and determination inside him rekindled.

"Maybe, hearing the screams of your dying daughter for an hour or so might help change your mind," he smiled at Estella and then turned on his heals and vanished from sight to the right.

Jonny's blue eyes were wide, his body shaking with shock. He glanced back to Jessie's form on the floor, her breathing was now even, but her body shook every so often, the pain coming in waves. Her eyes were half open, but she didn't really look conscious. Looking at her, the realization came crashing down on him.

His best friend was going to die.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry that's its really short, but I just couldn't write a lot for what I wanted to put in here. This was one of my favorite chapters, I don't know why, but I really liked writing it.

Until next time!


	5. Gateway to the Gods

**A/N: So, I will start with an apology, it has been forever since I last updated. But I have a good excuse; at least I think it is a reasonable one. My computer crashed. I called Geek Squad. They fixed it (supposedly). It crashed again. I let my friend look at it and he fixed it. Managed to get all my files off of the hard drive safe and sound. I will admit that I confessed my undying love to him. So, I will hopefully start updating again, considering my computer doesn't crash again, but my luck cant be **_**that**_** bad. (nervous laugh).**

_

* * *

LAST TIME-_

"_Maybe, hearing the screams of your dying daughter for an hour or so might help change your mind," he smiled at Estella and then turned on his heals and vanished from sight to the right._

_Jonny's blue eyes were wide, his body shaking with shock. He glanced back to Jessie's form on the floor, her breathing was now even, but her body shook every so often, the pain coming in waves. Her eyes were half open, but she didn't really look conscious. Looking at her, the realization came crashing down on him._

_His best friend was going to die._

_And there was nothing he could do to stop it._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jonny's wrists were covered in blood, the consequences of throwing his full weight against the metal bonds. One final push had his shoulders and back screaming with exhaustion. He had, at one point, thought about putting his feet on the wall and pulling, but that would not doubt defy the laws of gravity and send him to the ground face-first. He slumped back against the rock wall, his arms falling helplessly to his sides. The rattle of metal met his ears and he looked up to see Jessie's body rolling over to face him.

"Have you… thought about what you're going…to do even if you… get out of those?" the small smile she pulled failed at hiding the pain she was in.

"I have to do something, Jess. I just can't sit around and watch you…suffer," the last word came out in a whisper as he looked out through the cell bars. The rattle of metal on rock met his ears as he was drawn back to Jessie, only to find that her body had gone ridged. Jonny could see that her eyes were clenched shut and her back was arched, every single muscle contracting in her body, like an electric current was raging through her. He got as close to her as the chains would allow, all the while speaking words of encouragement. When the spasm seemed to calm she opened her emerald eyes and let out a labored breath.

"…my hero," she panted out.

"Are you ok?" he asked, his eyes softening as she turned to him.

"…I've been better… I'm on fire." Her gray "lets get serious" t-shirt already drenched with sweat.

Estella's voice came from the other side of the cell. It was the first time she had talked since Tadashi had left. "You're entering the first stage," she said as her head was lifted off of her knees. Jonny watched as her eyes found her daughters for the first time in ages.

"Stage? How many are there?" he asked as Estella's eyes moved from Jessie's to his.

"Three."

Jonny was draw to Jessie as she let out a small laugh. She only laughed harder when she saw the confused look he was giving her.

"Three," she laughed out. "Everything seems to be three around here. Is it going to take three hours for me to die or something," Jonny was gawking at her. What she truly loosing it? Jonny looked up to Estella, only to find her with the same confused look his face was wearing.

"Jess, are you ok?" he asked hesitantly, trying to get her to look at him, but she had been staring at the ceiling since the beginning of her random tangent. He looked up, only to have a smile spread on his lips. The tiny black camera had been hidden to all those who were not looking for it, but Jessie had found it. He looked down at her just as she flashed an obscene gesture at the camera. Jonny let out a small laugh.

"Jessie, you're only egging him on," Estella said, her words filled with pain. Jessie stopped laughing and stared at her mother.

"He can't do anything else, mom. I'm already d…" Estella cut her off.

"Jess, you don't get it. He **can** do more," her words wiping the smile off Jonny's face, "this has gone on long enough," before Jessie could argue her body convulsed again. Jonny went forward but stopped when she cried out. He shut his eyes and turned his head as her pain filled screams washed over him, entering his head and filling his consciences. It was the first time she had screamed, and he couldn't handle it. He dared a glance back at her and found tears of pain leaking out of her closed eyes. Jonny shifted his gaze to Estella and watched as the same clear; salty liquid ran down the older woman's face and to the floor. He had never seen Estella cry.

"What did you have in mind," he asked, hoping the conversation would stop whatever emotions he couldn't control from overflowing.

Estella wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand as her face hardened, "I'm going to tell Tadashi where the Heart of Thunder is. He'll most likely bring you two as collateral, which will work to our advantage. The faster we get her," she glanced down to Jessie's calming body on the floor, "to the Heart, the better chance we have of saving her."

Jonny nodded, his confidence already coming back. Having somewhat of a plan made him feel better, he just hoped Jessie could hold on long enough for it to work.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Tadashi snorted in disgust as he looked away from the security monitor. No matter what he did to that girl, she fought back with the most determination he had ever witness in a human being. She should have entered the second stage by now, but her body was fighting the Black Trinity, and to his surprise, actually slowing the process down. Estella's daughter was going to make the next couple of hour's fun.

"I like her," Haley's voice commented from the back of the room. Tadashi looked back over his shoulder and found her on top of one of the tables, back to the wall, an apple in hand.

"She's a persistent one," Blake, the two's younger brother put in from his position in front of another computer monitor. "The beacon we injected with the Trinity has been giving me her stats every thirty minutes, and I can tell you, she's a fighter. Her body's trying to reject it."

"Is that even possible," Haley asked, as two security guards entered from the back of the room.

"She's not going to win," Blake answered leaning back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "But her body's slowing down the virus considerably, she won't die in the registered two to three hours. It's past three already and she's just now entering the end of the first stage," he paused, his eyes staring at the girl on the screen, "she still fights even thought it's causing her more pain."

"She is a rare find, isn't she," Haley said, glancing at the girl on the security monitor.

"Rare find," Blake said with a laugh. "Yeah, don't even get me started on her pain tolerance. Most of the full grown men we've injected with the Trinity have gone unconscious by now, she hasn't even blacked out for a couple of minutes."

"If were counting on making millions off of this virus Tadashi, we have to know if anyone can overcome it," Haley's voice carried from the back of the room.

"Don't you think we know that sis," Blake rounded. "The way the Trinity was engineered, the way _we_ engineered it, I don't think there's anyone on this planet that can beat it, let alone endure the pain of all three stages. We'll just have to take her with us and monitor her progress. I'm curious to see how long she lasts." The two looked back at Tadashi. His arms were crossed across his chest, eyes unfocused, deep in thought. The end of his right thumb found its way to his mouth, he bit down in concentration.

"Bro?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"You posted the videos of the other subjects that were injected with the Trinity, right?" Tadashi asked, a swift nod from Blake, "and you sent them to all the major pharmaceutical companies in the United States," another nod, Tadashi paused, "check the bank account, see if anyone has taken the threat seriously yet."

Blake's fingers assaulted the keyboard, within second the bank records were up, only to show no money transferred in the last twenty-four hours. Blake leaned back in his chair again, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"At last," Haley's sarcastic voice carried from over Tadashi's shoulder. "I can retire and give up this life of crime."

"Pull up the world news for today," Tadashi asked as a smile crossed his face, "I have a surprise for you two."

Blake furrowed his brow before turning to the computer again. The page he pulled up made his world turn upside down. He glanced back at his brother with delight before reading the headlines aloud, "**Mass breakout of unknown substance in ****Phnom Penh hospital**," he scrolled down, "**Twenty dead, hundred-fifty infected**," another read, "**Unknown virus massacring Cambodian population**," another, "**Numbers of casualties and infected continue to rise**."

"How?" Haley breathed out.

"We threatened. They laughed. We make it a reality. They pay," Tadashi answered smoothly "Whether with money or their own lives, it's their choice."

"You're defiantly the brilliant one out of the three of us," Blake joked half-heartedly. "So the Heart of Thunder will give us our antidotes…what's the use of the Wild Hunt?"

"Everyone's going to try and come after us, after all, we are going to be the most powerful people in the world," Haley said with a smile.

"The Wild Hunt is our insurance policy, our security," Tadashi finished, before adding with a smile, "after all…only a fool will try and kill a god."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jessie welcomed the cold of the cement floor. Her body was on fire, and there was no telling how high her fever was. She had spent the last thirty minutes listening to her mothers and Jonny's conversation, spread out on the cement floor, trying to find a way away from the scorching heat. She was more upset with her mother than her present situation. How could she help Tadashi, even if he had promised a cure, her mother **had** to recognize that he was lying. She tilted her head to the side as vibrations in the floor interrupted her thoughts.

"They're coming," she whispered from her position on the cool floor.

"Jess, just hang on, were gonna get out of this," Jonny's reassuring voice came from her right. She watched as his face hardened when Tadashi's laughter sounded from the other side of the cell bars.

"Well, of course you're going to make it boy, you're fine," he laughed out. The smaller man to his right laughed out as well. Jessie could see he had an open mini laptop in his hands. He must have been Blake because when he spoke it carried the same sound as Tadashi's and Haley's.

"You also don't have a temperature of a hundred and three like the girl, it's a lot easier to escape if you aren't dying," he smiled as he looked down at Jessie. "I'm surprised that you aren't unconscious yet."

Jessie saw Jonny's eyes go wide, and heard her mother's short intake of breath. _So, a hundred and three_, she thought to herself. She had seen records online of a hundred and four and five, but she never thought she would ever get close to that. She really did feel like crap, but she assured herself that if she made it easy for Tadashi to get the Heart of Thunder, she was going to feel a whole lot worse.

"We'll see whose unconscious after I get out of this cell," she bit out, as she rolled over and lifted her body to her knees, the chains rattling against the hard floor. The world seemed to tilt a little and she swayed side to side before her body seemed to recover its bearings. The glare on her face grew as Tadashi let out a mocking laugh.

"You're going to have to cooperate, Jess, or I might have to hurt you more," he said as his face hardened.

"Why don't we take this outside, then we'll see who gets hurt," the words came out in pants as she hauled her heavy body to her feet. The chains around her wrists that were attached to the floor halted her accent. Back almost fully straight, she rocked forwards and backwards on her heals as her eyes focused on the people on the other side of the cell bars. Once her vision cleared, she met the stone cold face of Tadashi. Haley stood behind him and to the right, Blake to the left. The younger brothers eyes held what Jessie thought to be surprise, and she smiled, "I'm not gong to make this easy-," her voice cut out mid sentence. Jessie slumped, taking a step towards the cell bars, the chains giving resistance as a huge weight pushed down on her shoulders. She staggered forward as her world tilted yet aging, the room spinning out of control as her knees buckled. The floor came rushing up to met her as she collapsed backwards.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jonny lunged forward, mimicking Estella's actions on the other side of the cell, both forgetting about the metal bonds around their wrists. He watched Jessie crash into the ground as a loud beeping filled the cells. Jonny glanced up at Blake, the mini laptop in his hand was going berserk, but the smile the youngest brother held was unsettling. Almost anything that made erratic beeping noises in fast successions was bad and Jonny's instincts were telling him this situation was no different. Before the question left his lips, Blake spoke as he flipped open the laptop.

"Her temperature is starting to drop. So far 4º F below normal, she's entering the second stage of the Trinity," Blake glanced at the watch on his wrist as a smile grew across his face. "Four hours on the dot, a new record."

Jonny watched as Tadashi bent down closer to the bars, and to Jessie. She had managed to land on her back and her labored breathing was begging to echo off the cell walls. Tadashi pulled a small smile, egging Jessie on. If looks could kill, Jessie would have killed him four times over.

"How are you feeling?" the sarcastic concern in his voice went well with the smile he had on his face.

"You can kiss my ass," she bit out at him before using the last of her energy to lunge forward, spitting in his face. She fell backwards, letting the back of her head rest on the floor, never taking her eyes off of the man in front of her. Jonny's shock mirrored the people around him. She had hit Tadashi square in the face, and the look he had was priceless. The surprise was there only for a moment before he slid the stone cold face back on top. He stood up as his eyes narrowed, and Jonny thought he was gong to tear through the cell bars and attack Jessie. He didn't. The signature smile spread across his face as Tadashi stared down at her, locking eyes.

"Defiant to the end, so much like your father," his smile grew as Jessie's eyes widened, a satisfied laugh escaping his mouth. "I'm going to enjoy this."

**Monday, 12:45 AM – Dig Site, Cambodia**

Race Bannon was spiraling into depression. Hadji, hour's ago, had told him his daughter had disappeared into the forest, chasing the enemy that had kidnapped his wife. Race's family was everything to him. Yes, he was divorced, but he still loved Estella and she deserved a good life, away from chaos and destruction. He thought of his daughter, the one that meant the most to him. No matter how much trouble she got in, or Jonny dragged her into, she was his daughter, and his protective nature was useless now that she had disappeared. He had lost his whole family, everyone he truly cared about, in one day. Benton's questioning voice brought him back to reality. He looked up and found the worried faces of his best friends in front of him.

"Race, you ok?" Benton asked. Race gave him a reassuring smile and looked around the tent. They had taken most of the computer equipment off of the _Dragonfly_ and placed in the tent he was in now, in doing so making it a command center of sorts. Hadji sat at one of the desktops, his right hand on the small wireless mouse.

"This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack," the young Indian breathed out before glancing at the news section on His eyes grew wide and he inhaled sharply.

"What the---," Benton said from behind the teen. Both eyes were focused on the headline, which read: **Mysterious plague ravaging ****Phnom Penh**** hospital**. Benton and Race glanced at the screen than at each other.

"Related?" Benton asked, eyebrows raised.

"I don't know. It seems too much of a coincidence," Race muttered. _It was too easy_.

"There are no coincidences in life, only inevitabilities," Hadji murmured from in front of the keyboard. Race glanced down and found that Hadji had hacked into the CIA mainframe. He was running a search for anyone group or association related to a howling wolf head as its symbol. The screen started flashing and a beeping filled the tent.

"Found something, already?" Race asked, leaning over Hadji's shoulder.

"Yeah, surprisingly," he breathed out before continuing. "A black market organization called the Purifiers. Symbol's a wolf. Theirs a profile, three major bad guys, they look to be family. Two males, one female."

Race glanced at the profile picture, and his breath caught in is throat. The youngest was to the right, a male, the one to the left, a female. The picture in the center was what had drawn his attention.

"Impossible…Tadashi…," he whispered out, running his hand over his mouth.

Benton glanced over at his friend. The I-1 agents eyes were wide and he was shaking slightly. It had caught Benton off guard that Race knew this man.

"How did you know, Race?" he asked. His friend turned away from the monitor and paced to the middle of the tent. He ran his hand through his white hair as he turned back to the two who were waiting for an answer.

"Because," he took a breath, his hands running through his hair again, "he served with me in the special forces."

"What!" the two voices were not as loud as Race had thought they would be, but still, they held the shock that he was expecting.

"You served with him?" Hadji asked.

Race glanced at Hadji. He was expecting shock and disbelief, but not rhetorical questions. He knew Hadji was smarter than this, but Race couldn't help but show his annoyance. "God, is there an echo in here, or am I just hearing things," as his hands went back to his hair. Hadji offered a small "sorry" before Benton cut it.

"If you served with him, doesn't that mean he was for that American honor and loyalty, help the helpless thing? What happened?" he asked as he looked up at Race, who was avoiding anyone's eyes.

"Yes, he was the epitome of a good soldier, a great soldier," Race trailed off, looking out through the open tent.

"But…then I guess I don't get it, if he was so good, why go bad, lose everything?" Hadji asked from his seat in front of the computer.

"But that's just it, he was an extraordinary soldier. He followed orders like a well trained dog, completing the job meant everything to him, was everything to him," Race took a breath, running his hand over his mouth. "What I'm trying to get at is," he turned his back to his friends for a moment, running his hands through his hair, "that man was born to end lives."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The half dozen men standing behind Tadashi and his brother and sister were in motion before Jonny could comprehend anything. Tadashi's laugh filled the cells as the men unchained the three from the floor and handcuffed their hands behind their back.

"Oh, yes, I knew Race Bannon," he laughed out. "He was my mentor when I joined the Special Forces a long long time ago. He always told me I was like a son to him," Tadashi looked down at Jessie's hunched over form before adding. "He talked about you so much."

Jonny and Estella stood up as Jessie was hauled off the floor and placed on her feet, where she swayed a little before getting control. The six men split up, two behind each of the prisoners. Jessie was first out of the cell, her captor's half carrying half dragging her next to Tadashi. Jonny brought up the end as Estella proceeded in front of him. Tadashi glanced back to Estella, the smile still on his face.

"So, you've decided to take us to the Heart of Thunder?" he asked, Estella nodded, and his smile widened. "Excellent! Move out!"

Jonny was shoved forward, the stair up to the next floor were only a few feet in front of them. Tadashi continued to talk to Jessie, even as she was dragged up the stairs. Estella gave a nervous glance back to Jonny before receiving a firm push from one of the guards. Jonny was so caught up in his thoughts that he was surprised to hear the giant silo doors screeching open.

Three of the biggest Hummers Jonny had ever seen were parked on the other side, awaiting their arrival. The black wolf Midnight strolled out from the shadows and jogged besides Jessie, the animal whimpering slightly.

"I'm sorry Midnight," Haley bent down and scratched the wolf behind the ears, "you can't come this time." It let out a loud whine as Haley stood up and smiled.

"Well, Jessie," Tadashi's voice carried from his position next to her, "you're going to have to tell me how stage 3 hypothermia feels, because frankly, I've heard it sucks." Jonny glanced at Jessie; she was shivering, her breaths coming in quick and shallow pants. He could see the goose bumps already appearing on her body, despite the high humidity outside. Jonny looked up from Jessie as Tadashi turned to Estella.

"You're riding with me," he then turned to Haley, "you're to follow with most of the men," finally he turned to Blake. "Cox is going to drive with you, I don't trust you in this jungle. I want to make sure you get to the Heart in one piece."

"You know bro," Blake bit out, storming off to the last Hummer, "you are a piece of work."

As Tadashi smiled at the back of his receding brother, Haley rolled her eyes and turned to her Hummer. Tadashi walked towards the first one, Estella dragged behind him. For one tiny moment, Jonny was dragged to the middle Hummer, Haley's Hummer, but the guard looked down at him with a smile. Their course changed to the same Hummer Jessie was being dragged to, she was shoved into the back as Cox took the drivers seat. Jonny was finally met with the back of the Hummer. The back row had been taken out and the floor had been leveled, steel bars had been placed in between the front cabin and the back, separating Jessie and himself from Blake and Cox. Jonny was shoved into the back as Blake pulled himself into the passenger side. Cox, a burly man, turned the key in the ignition and the Hummer roared to a start as they followed the Hummer in front of them into the jungle.

Jonny reached for Jessie, the chattering of her teeth just now becoming known to him. He called out her name as she rolled her shivering body over.

"You ok?" his sympathy filled voice no longer making her mad. He was inching closer to her, his hands cuffed behind his back. Even though he was still feet away from her, she could feel his body warmth.

"How can I…go from scorching hot…to freezing cold…in like forty-five minutes? Is my luck really that bad?" she panted out, as she closed her eyes. Jonny thought fast. His hands were handcuffed behind his back, but if he could slip them from underneath to in front they would be of much more use. Jessie watched him as he drew his heals to his butt, forcing the metal handcuffs down his lower back and around the tips of his toes. He was not, by any means, flexible, but the drive he held made up for it. With one last pull, the handcuffs came around his knees and were finally in front. He reached for Jessie, grabbing her around her shoulders and bringing her closer to him.

"What are you doing Jonny?" she asked as he dragged her across the floor of the Hummer.

"We don't have any blankets, so I have to get you warm with my body heat," when he saw her startled look, he smiled, "don't worry, I wont tell anyone you have a crush on me." Her small laugh made him feel batter, that feeling was washed away; however, when Jessie said she was getting hotter, warmer. She tried to shift out of his arms, but he held her strong.

"Jonny, what are you doing, I said I'm feeling better,"

"Jess, you're not," when she tried to protest, he continued. "Often, a person will experience a warm sensation, as if they have recovered, but they are in fact entering stage two. If you don't believe me, try touching your thumb to your little finger," he watched her try, her shaking hands unresponsive. "Trust me, I did a report on it Junior year for Bio II. You're experiencing muscle miss-coordination." Blake's laugh made Jonny look up, he felt Jessie shift in his arms.

"You know your stuff boy, I'll give you that," the brother glanced to Jessie, who was still resting in Jonny's arms. "But this isn't regular hypothermia you're dealing with. Keeping her warm with outside heat, you're body heat, wont do jack. When the cold is from the outside, that's what you do, try to insulate the person with your own heat, but this type of hypothermia is different. The source of the cold isn't from the outside, the Black Trinity finds your core and spreads from it," his smile showed Jonny that he was enjoying this, just like Tadashi. The raised eyebrows that he gave Jonny only added to the teen's anger. "To put it simply, she's freezing form the inside out."

The sudden jerk of the car to one side woke Jonny from his rage. Blake had turned around in his seat, dismissing the last conversation. Jessie's body began to shiver more violently in Jonny's arms as Blake's laptop began to beep.

"Her temperature is dropping again," Blake said in almost a board tone.

"How much?" Cox asked, keeping his eyes on the jungle road in front of him.

"It's down to 91.6 º F, when it drops below 90 º F, she's in stage three."

Jonny looked down and found Jessie's emerald eyes staring back at him; her chattering teeth obscured the smile she had on her face. She turned inward, nudging closer to his chest. Jonny was shocked at first, but he calmed down and let her. Her freezing body was just seeking warmth, and Jonny wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. She rested her cheek on his chest as he placed his chin on the top of her head. He closed his eyes for a while, trying to think of a safe and death free way out of their current situation. He tightened his hold on Jessie, trying to stop her shaking when Blake cleared his throat.

"So, you've know her how long?" Blake asked with a smile. Jonny could hear the sarcasm.

"She's been my best friend my whole life," he answered, glaring at Blake. The laugh he gave made Jonny's eyes grow dangerously small.

"Sure, Sparky, whatever," the half laughed out sentence became clearer as the Hummer rolled to a stop. Jonny just now realized he could hear the pounding of a waterfall close by. He looked around; the Hummer's had pulled into an open area. Jonny looked through the front window, Tadashi and Estella had already stepped out of their Hummer, Haley was soon to follow. Cox pulled himself out of the driver seat and motioned one of the other men to the back. Once the trunk was opened, Jonny was pulled to the entrance, Jessie being wrenched from his arms. Estella's yells of protest met his ears as he was dropped to the hard ground next to Jessie's shivering body. Tadashi drew closer to Jessie as Jonny spotted the waterfall. It was beautiful, the water pounding on the sharp racks at the bottom of the drop. Jonny could tell that there had been, at one point, a designated path up the side that vanished behind the raging falls.

"So, Jessie," Tadashi's voice rang out as he approached the teens, "how dose it feel to be cold in a place so hot?"

"It's actually not that cold here, a couple of torches, some law chairs and a fire pit, and this would be some vacation spot," she smiled out, her voice full of ice. Tadashi's snort of dismissal told his men to move. Jonny was hauled to his feet and lead towards the waterfall.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jessie was pulled to her feet, though she couldn't really walk straight. She smiled at the men's grunts of effort as they tried to support her shifting weight. Her mothers body was being guided beside her, she could feel her mother's eyes.

"Jessica, are you ok?" the concerned voice ringing out from beside her. Jessie turned and found the same emerald eyes as her own staring back at her. Jessie cringed slightly at the use of her proper name.

"I've been better, except now instead of being on fire I'm freezing," she paused, her chattering teeth taking control for a second before she continued. "Every breath feels like the air is liquid ice and its ripping its way down my throat and into my lungs," she took a labored breath, a grimace of pain crossing her face. "My chest hurts and it feels like there's some solid mass taking up space it shouldn't."

"Jess, you know that's something called your heart," Tadashi insult carried from up front. Her head whipped around so fast, red hair following. Her vision flickered out before catching up with her surroundings. She tried lunging at him, but it turned out to be a half stagger to the right. She almost lost her balance and the loud curses from the men dragging her made Tadashi laugh. She looked up into his pale, blue, uncaring eyes. Jessie had barley registered that she had been walking until the light was dimmed and she found herself behind the giant waterfall.

"Before the day is done, Tadashi," she paused, taking a much needed breath, biting back her chattering teeth. "I'm going to stare down at your body with the same smile you so cherish." The smile dropped from the terrorists face in an instant as he advanced towards her, both men's grip on her tightened to the point of brushing as Tadashi's face rested inches from hers.

"That's some promise," he paused, exhaling on her face, "for a dead kid."

"Are you two finished," Haley's annoyed and bored voice carried from the front of the pack, "Where here."

That statement caught Jessie off guard, she glanced around a little too fast for her mind to process. They were already here, where was _here_ exactly. She glanced up to the older woman, and her eyes grew wide.

Two huge, closed stone doors rested behind Haley. They were littered with carvings and engravings. The center most pictures were of horsemen galloping from the sky. The Sky started from the tip right and the horseman poured from it, some finding the ground and others making their paths in the sky. Hounds and all sorts of creatures were following the riders and people on the ground fled in fright.

Jessie stared at the carvings; the intricacy of the doors was extraordinary. It must have taken forever to make them. Then it came to Jessie, that their present situation was so ironic. These beautiful, hand crafted doors, which probably took hundreds of hours to make, held the destruction of the world, that could be unleashed in a couple of hours.

"We are in way over our heads," Jessie whispered to herself. Tadashi's ears perked up and he looked to her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Jessie breathed as she glanced back at the door and away from Tadashi's prodding eyes. His laughter filled the space behind the waterfall.

"What is this place?" Jonny asked from beside Jessie. He turned to her again, she was paling, her lips and fingertips were turning a light color of blue, she wasn't shivering as violently, but that meant that her body was giving up on the outer limbs and focusing on the core. Her condition was getting worse, fast.

"This, my friends and enemies," Tadashi paused to look at all the faces, then he turned and threw his arms open in delight, "is the Gateway to the God's."


End file.
